Rights
On June 26, 2005, Hanuman Collective gave permission for shows to be hosted at the Archive. Note, earlier incarnations of Hanuman can also be uploaded to this section.
Subject: RE: Confirm setup of Hanuman Collective section in Live Music Archive?
Diana, yes its fine to set up hanuman in archives, good luck
Paul Benoit
www.paulbenoitmusic.com
Policy
Audio and SBD only. No video.
About "Hanuman" incarnations:
http://www.thehanumancollective.com/aboutthc/index.htm
The Seattle-based acoustic band THE HANUMAN COLLECTIVE is comprised of members Paul Benoit (acoustic guitar), Tige DeCoster (acoustic bass), Scott Law (mandolin, acoustic guitar), Damien Aitken (saxophone) and Will Dowd (hybrid-percussion). Mixing rock, funk, folk, jazz, bluegrass, afro-Cuban, Middle Eastern, and experimental music into one tasty sonic cocktail, the quintet's sound brings to mind such acclaimed artists as Medeski, Martin & Wood, Dave Matthews, Ali Farka Toure and David Grisman.
First formed as HANUMAN in June of 1996 and taking their name from stories of a Hindu Monkey God, the original lineup consisted of flutist Ben Klein in addition to percussionist Jarrod Kaplan (TAARKA), DeCoster, and Benoit. Klein left the group in November of 1997 and the group was put on hiatus.
A year later, the remaining three resurrected HANUMAN and began playing throughout the summer of 1999 often billed as the HANUMAN TRIO with special guest, SCOTT LAW. By the fall of the same year Scott was welcomed aboard full-time, and the band cranked up the tour schedule occasionally supplementing their live shows with other musicians such as Damien Aitken on saxophone, Hugh Sutton on keys and accordion, and Billy Oskay on fiddle.
That autumn, the quartet was asked to open for (and also serve as the backing band) for singer/songwriter DAN BERN on several large-scale East Coast dates anchoring their first national tour. They have subsequently played shows with such acts as the STRING CHEESE INCIDENT, the JAZZ MANDOLIN PROJECT, JIMMY CLIFF, the MICKEY HART BAND, ZEN TRICKSTERS, BIG WU, JOE CRAVEN, THE MOTET, LIVING DAYLIGHTS, THE GRANDMOTHERS and VINYL, among others.
Since 2000, Hanuman appeared at numerous open air festivals on the West Coast, including High Sierra Music Festival, the Oregon Country Fair, NW Folklife, and Bumbershoot. HANUMAN issued four albums their self-titled debut in 1996, 1999's Hanuman Trio Live, 2000's Pedalhorse and 2001's Shine.
At the end of 2001, Scott Law left the ranks of permanent status to tour with MELVIN SEALS' MELTING POT (former Jerry Garcia Band keyboardist). Damien Aitken was then hired on a regular basis to round out the sound with his funk and soul-drenched work on alto saxophone.
Late in 2002, percussionist Jarrod Kaplan departed to lead his own successful group (TAARKA), and THC began re-forming with current as well as former musical family and the permanent addition of master hybrid-percussionist Will Dowd. With deference to Jarrod's contributions as an instigator and driving promotional force of the band's past, the word COLLECTIVE was adopted to help differentiate the old and the new chapters of the group's musical journey.
In 2004, THE HANUMAN COLLECTIVE now stands as a quintet striving to fully balance and ignite the pure and cohesive sound they have honed for several years as musical comrades, while continuing their quest for performance and compositional perfection with a slightly different name and a bad-ass groove!!!
